Customer Reviews

The Blooming of a Lotus

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I have read several of Thich Nhat Hanh's books and consider them invaluable. While I have found all of his books to contain insights and helpful advice two, The Blooming of a Lotus and Present Moment, Wonderful Moment, stand out in their application in my daily life. Present Moment, Wonderful Moment supplies short verses that helps bring mindfulness to my daily activities. In The Blooming of a Lotus, Thich Nhat Hanh provides 34 meditation exercises from the simplest to the most sublime. The practices in this book are meant to be guided meditation exercises but I use them in my daily meditation practice. There are short, simple exercises to ease the pain, stress and turmoil of day to day existence, and lengthier exercises that allow me to look deeply into my life, releasing and healing long pent up pain and trauma. I have been using these exercises for two years and I feel I have only begun to probe their potential to help. The author's Being Peace and Peace is Every Step are among the important books I return to every day for inspiration on why I should meditate and practice mindfulness. But nothing compares to The Blooming of a Lotus for its power to daily nourish and transform.

After searchiing for meditation exercises in the true Buddhist tradition, this book was a revelation, like the opening of a flower. It is all you need for everyday meditation, deep meditation on death, aging, beauty, love, body, mind--it has it all. And it is so elegantly translated it reads like poetry, every time you look at it. If you are looking for the inspiration to do your own guided meditation, get this one.

I have enjoyed Thich Nhat Hanh's other books because (the translation of) his writing makes Buddhist thoughts and practices clear and accessible; not too simplistic and not too academic. The guided meditations in this book are no exception. Ranging from very simple to rather complex, each meditation is written in poem like phrases, or stages, with the key words of each in the border off to the side. I have been memorizing the key words and saying them to myself while I run--it makes me much more aware of myself and my surroundings than listening to earphones and makes me concentrate on my breathing, all of which makes the experience more enjoyable.

Aside from deep meditation, I find myself practicing these meditations whenever I have a few quiet minutes (and even sometimes when I don't). With practice, the key words take root. Thich Nhat Hanh's knowledge and guidance are invaluable.

The Blooming Lotus has a series of 'breathing in,....I...." 'breathing out, I.....' statements to follow, with a description of what is happening when you engage in these small meditations.
Just sit, read, breathe, put down. The immediate internal impact is huge.

I bought this book in 1993 and consider it a keeper for life. It has 34 breath-by-breath guided meditations including ones on calming the body, contact with wholesome things, impermanence, accepting parents, anger, death, and the false perception of separateness.

Thich Nhat Hanh offers brief explanations of the importance of each exercise. When I first got it I would take one exercise per day to work with.

It's all quite beautiful. If you are interested in meditation, or want to deepen your practice, seriously consider this book.

I just wanted people to know that this is not really a book, like most of Hanh's other books, but rather a collection of guided meditations with some commentary on them.

As such, it is excellent and I highly recommend it. I have read many of Hanh's books and most are excellent, all are worth reading.

My favorite is "Anger", perhaps because I have issues with anger and use Buddhist techniques - meditation, philosophy, loving kindness - to help me control it and - hopefully - eventually put out the fire.

But this book has meditations on about everything, and I like to do 15-40 minutes of regular meditation on the breath (vipissana) and then close with 5-10 minutes of these meditations.

In my opinion, Thay as his students call Thich Nhat Hanh, is a living Buddha or Bodhisatva. He seems to embody what the Buddha taught and yet he is so down to earth he can bring that enlightenment to the common man and woman who know little of Buddhism. His techniques and explanations are so clear and simple, anyone can grasp them, use them, and benefit from them.

Thanks to Thich Nhat Hanh for writing these books!

This is the gist of the practice. You can sit down and use these guided meditations to get started, or to maintain your practice, or to get centered agian, right now in this moment. Some are steeped in Buddhist terminology and structure, which Thich Nhat Hahn explains. But most are non-dogmatic, easily accessible, and potentially life-changing. I've read much by Thich Nhat Hahn, and all of it seems to-the-point and profoundly wise. But this is the book I go back to again and again.